The CamelBak has become a ubiquitous part of hiking culture. Any outdoorsperson worth his or her salt (and potassium for electrolyte balance!) has some sort of hydration pack in their bag, and more often than not it’s a CamelBak brand.

Stephen Regenold from the Gear Junkie got his hands on some of the new autumn models and highlighted some of the new advances, like a wider mouth for easier cleaning and a new, slimmer profile. They’re also supposed to be lighter and easier to dry, which is a nice touch.

I started out hiking with a CamelBak and loved it. Water always tasted great coming out of those, but I had some pretty consistent problems with leaks until I switched to Platypus reservoirs. They are, however, kind of a pain to fit into the hydration sleeves on some of my packs. Oh well – to each their own form of drinking water!

Tags: gear, Hiking, hydration, hydration pack